Page 123 of Between Us

Maria and Bonnie walk back inside at the same time our dads do. They had gone to Bonnie’s for a couple minutes, having bonded over gardening and become good friends in the last few years. By this point, everyone knows Maria’s a lesbian. She was dating a woman for about two years until they recently broke up. Not that I’d ever ask, I’m not sure how interested Bonnie is in Maria. I can’t help but notice there are hints of somethingmore.

Taking a look around, almost everyone that we care about is here, celebrating my graduation.

Grady couldn’t make it, but he’s been more distant lately. It hurts Blake. Though outside of Catalina and me, she doesn’t talk about it much.

Over the years, Jatin and I have stayed close. It’s been nice having a friend to go through the program with. He’s planning on moving to New York City to be with his siblings. I’m not worried about our friendship. Blake’s still best friends with Margo and Meera. The former is on a family vacation in Europe, and the latter is celebrating her brother’s graduation with their family. We have plans to celebrate over dinner when Margo gets back into town. It’ll be our typical group of friends—Jatin, Dev, his fiancée Lina, Meera, her boyfriend of about a year Zane, Margo, Blake, and me.

For a while, Blake was worried about Margo feeling left out, or rejected by Jatin, with everyone else paired up. But after our winter trip to Durango, she’s starting to see what I always did. Jatin’s growing interest in Margo and the real chance she has.

It’s been a good few years.

Blake’s hands grab onto my forearms, pulling me closer to her back. Her familiar fresh melon scent envelopes me as I get lost in the chatter of our family, and the sight of my daughter giggling in excitement. One of my hands drops to Blake’s belly the same moment our son kicks, causing her to slightly flinch, but smiling up at me all the same.

And I know it’ll be an even better life.

Blake

Four more years later…

Standing next to my brother, I take in the sight before me, tears in my eyes.

It’s been about seven and a half years since Adrian, and I first talked about the possibility of opening this program to help pet owners and animals in the area. From that day in his old apartment, it feels like time has sped up. More than my professional future changed that day—like my relationship with Adrian, which has brought us seven years of marriage and three children. Our youngest and last child, Kayson, is a little over a year and a half now.

He wraps an arm around my shoulder and asks, “So, how are you feeling?”

Looking up at him, a peace settles over me. It’s been about three weeks since Grady moved back to Amada Beach with his two daughters. He and Arielle separated when their youngest daughter Daisy was three. I know he has mixed feelings on the situation, even if he won’t talk about it. He’s lighter in some ways, and the happiness of being back in our hometown is apparent. But I see the way he looks at our parents, or Adrian and me.

It makes me feel a little guilty to be so happy that he’s permanently back in town. Though it doesn’t change the fact that I am. Our kids get to grow up together. They get the same sense of camaraderie we had with the Davies siblings, despite our mostly estranged relationships with them now.

All five of the kids—my three and Grady’s two—are with my mom and Cami today. Adrian’s dad and Maria are volunteering in the registration tent, along with our friends. Jatin included since he isn’t licensed in California. But now that Margo has had him wrapped around her finger for about two years, I know he prefers being with her when it’s possible. He’s the oldest of the Iyer siblings, and the last to get married, though everyone’s parents are very excited about their families joining in the future.

“I’m overwhelmed,” I admit. “What if it fails? What if it ruins our dad’s business? What if—”

Shaking his head, he turns toward me and grabs me by the shoulders. He’s less than half a foot taller than me, but he leans down to look me in the eye all the same.

“No, kid.” The last time he called me that was when I gave birth to Millie. In a lot of ways, I appreciated that he dropped the nickname. It felt like he was starting to see me as more than someone he has to take care of. But at this moment, it’s a comfort I didn’t know I needed.

“You’ve put too much into this,” he continues. “You have every ounce of Dad’s support in this. You have an amazing team who has dedicated the last three years to this and so much family that loves you. Not to mention, a husband who would never let you not reach your dreams. But more than anything,youhave the heart, and the brains, for this.”

Feeling like a young girl afraid of rejection and disappointment again, I quietly ask, “Do you mean that?”

“Yes, with everything I have. I believe inyou, Blake.”

Stepping back, he sweeps an arm out to the side. My eyes follow the movement and take in the large tents that cover the clinic’s parking lot. Part of them will be used for check-in, and the other half will be used for routine exams and vaccinations. The scheduled surgeries we have for the day, including room for limited walk-ins, will be handled inside as usual. We have the full staff volunteering, as well as staff from Aurora Hills Animal Hospital and another clinic in San Diego.

And with the budget we’ve worked out through grants, donations, and fundraising, it’s more than I ever could’ve dreamed that night on Adrian’s old leather couch.

“This is just the beginning,” Grady promises.

Smiling, I look at him from the corner of my eye.

I don’t see Catalina anymore. It depends on what I need at different times, but I’m still on my medication and I’ve started to see another therapist. A couple of years ago, she suggested it was time. That we’d gotten to a point in our professional relationship that had sort of met its peak. It took me a while to understand that without feeling rejected or dismissed, and I’ve talked about it with my new therapist.

But Grady’s sentiment reminds me of her, sending a wave of comfort through me.

Catalina promised that my life was just beginning, that there was so muchgoodto come, and that I had no idea.

And… she was right. I’m confident in saying she’d be proud of me today.

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